Supergirl Season 4, Episode 6: "Call to Action" (SPOILERS)

[Brierrose]

... but I missed Alex's Harry Potter reference?

After Col. Haley told Alex and Supergirl that the DEO isn't responsible for investigating the Children of Liberty and the sisters were talking on the stairs Alex said Haley was acting all Delores Umbridgey and the two of them might have to go Weasley twins on her. Please let the sisters go Weasley twins on her then leave the DEO in spectacular fashion like George and Fred left Hogwarts.

 

[Thome216]

Yeah, I'm assuming it's Supergirl that debates him, and that it happens at the end of episode 5. That episode was already on my ****-list for it's obviously deceptive title, so now I'm double wary of it, lol.

The thing is though, 'Call to Action,' is not proprietory to the good guys or bad guys. It's like 'Man of Steel,' in referral to Agent Liberty rather than Superman. I actually think it is a pretty good turn of phrase, as in turning things a little on their head.

The best part of this for me was the dragon fight! I loved that. The little girl's iguana turned into a dragon to protect her family. Some good effects too.

For Lena and James, she was being a bit too controlling, but I also think James was way out of line at the end. You sit and talk things about that out rather then delivery bomb shells about not wanting her love. Jeez! But he's also right to. It's not enough to just label a person as a fanatic. You do have to talk to them, esp if you are to find an avenue through which to reach an agreement or to assuage the deep-seated fear that they have against aliens.

But, it also looks like he's going to be playing into Lockwood's hands next week...

The debate was done very well, though you just knew Lockwood was going to get the last word in. Of course, the immediate response to the settlers conundrum is that in that case both sides were human. The CoL seem to pushing the narrative that all aliens are bad and coming after your family, when in the case of settlers coming to North America, there were all human, and so humans doing bad things to humans. You don't need to be an alien to do bad things.

Anyone else think Lockwood's son is going to come home some day soon with an alien girlfriend..?

Once more I'm wondering why Supergirl is taking orders from the DEO? She's at most a 'contract' agent, not in their chain of command nor sworn to follow their orders. She did so at first because of Alex, and then her respect and friendship with J'onn. Now J'onn is no longer there, her sister's control of the DEO is minimized and they're telling her to do the things that she's argued with Alex that she should be doing, which is helping people. Haley had better back off, or I think Kara should go out on her own. Let's see them get along without having a Kryptonian at their constant beck and call.

The Thanksgiving dinner was good and the fight with Brainy and the Liberty thugs was great.
Manchester is continuing to excel and living up to his comic anti-hero origins. They're not toning him down at all. Be interesting to see if Lena's experiments is how he gets his powers.

As for the tiki torches, that is just art imitating life. Racist pigs through the ages have already set the burning torch precedent, so I would view that as a common trope and not something special.

 

[flickchick85]

The thing is though, 'Call to Action,' is not proprietory to the good guys or bad guys. It's like 'Man of Steel,' in referral to Agent Liberty rather than Superman. I actually think it is a pretty good turn of phrase, as in turning things a little on their head.

For the record, my post was criticizing the seemingly deceptive title of the PREVIOUS episode, "Parasite Lost," which I was completely wrong about, so ya know, just disregard, lol.

Once more I'm wondering why Supergirl is taking orders from the DEO? She's at most a 'contract' agent, not in their chain of command nor sworn to follow their orders. She did so at first because of Alex, and then her respect and friendship with J'onn. Now J'onn is no longer there, her sister's control of the DEO is minimized and they're telling her to do the things that she's argued with Alex that she should be doing, which is helping people. Haley had better back off, or I think Kara should go out on her own. Let's see them get along without having a Kryptonian at their constant beck and call.

This is a particular point of interest for me, not only because Primal and I have been wanting them to ditch the DEO for a while now to shake things up, but also because it got me thinking: The DEO shot Kara down with Kryptonite in the pilot, before they agreed to work together. But now I have to wonder: If Kara had NOT agreed to work with them...what would they have done? Would they have used Kryptonite again to keep her on a leash? Surely Alex (and maybe not even J'onn at that point) would have objected, but as we saw even back then, the government was more than happy to step in when their leadership was questioned. So has Kara's freedom to operate as a superhero been an illusion all this time? Very curious to see how this plays out, and I really do hope it ends with her parting ways with the DEO by the end of the season.

 

[Sithborg]

Of course, it then begs the question, why Supergirl and not Superman?

 

[flickchick85]

Of course, it then begs the question, why Supergirl and not Superman?

Well we already know the DEO formed BECAUSE of Superman, and definitely saw him as a threat early on. Which is why they were so desperate to get Jeremiah to work with them back when the real Henshaw was in charge - he had the inside track on Supes. So I'm guessing Supes simply evaded them in the early days, and then he was embraced as a hero by the world, so they stepped back and continued to develop themselves as a defense contingency. And we also know they tried to work WITH him after J'onn took over, but he refused over the Kryptonite issue.

It's like Superman was the fully-grown wolf they had no hope of controlling, and Kara was this young, naive pup they saw an opportunity to domesticate. And they did.

So when you think about it, Col. Haley is actually kind of right - they DID get away from the DEO's original mission. It seems clear they formed as an anti-alien agency designed to be a defense against Superman and others he may have brought with him. And once it was clear he wasn't really a threat, and J'onn took over, they changed (though they were still pretty exclusively hunting aliens in S1 thanks to Fort Rozz). Maybe some of these agents really did join just to fight aliens and don't really like being allied with Supergirl all that much.

 

[flickchick85]

One nice throwaway moment I caught on re-watch: When Brainiac 5 brought flowers to Thanksgiving claiming he was told never to show up empty handed, Nia said that his mother must have raised him right. His response was, "she most definitely did not." In the comics, his mother (Brainiac 4) felt no emotions or attachment to him, abandoned him, and eventually tried to kill him. So I thought that line was a nice little nod to that backstory.

 

[BH/HHH]

One nice throwaway moment I caught on re-watch: When Brainiac 5 brought flowers to Thanksgiving claiming he was told never to show up empty handed, Nia said that his mother must have raised him right. His response was, "she most definitely did not." In the comics, his mother (Brainiac 4) felt no emotions or attachment to him, abandoned him, and eventually tried to kill him. So I thought that line was a nice little nod to that backstory.

Nice catch, I like when they do things like that.

 

[Thome216]

For the record, my post was criticizing the seemingly deceptive title of the PREVIOUS episode, "Parasite Lost," which I was completely wrong about, so ya know, just disregard, lol.

Ah, a 'cross-quoting' incident...' '...like the biggest inter-dimensional cross-rip since the Tunguska blast of 1909...'

I like your theory of the DEO using their 'young cub,' the way they couldn't with Superman. Puts a more nefarious light upon the DEO as a whole. And if so, then even more reason for Kara to kick out on her own.

 

[Kelly]

Best episode thus far....

 

[flickchick85]

Good to see you, Kelly! And, agreed.

 

[Thome216]

Double agree! And nice avatar. Is it new?

 

[Sithborg]

Kelly lives! Yay!

 

[SSAV]

For the record, my post was criticizing the seemingly deceptive title of the PREVIOUS episode, "Parasite Lost," which I was completely wrong about, so ya know, just disregard, lol.


This is a particular point of interest for me, not only because Primal and I have been wanting them to ditch the DEO for a while now to shake things up, but also because it got me thinking: The DEO shot Kara down with Kryptonite in the pilot, before they agreed to work together. But now I have to wonder: If Kara had NOT agreed to work with them...what would they have done? Would they have used Kryptonite again to keep her on a leash? Surely Alex (and maybe not even J'onn at that point) would have objected, but as we saw even back then, the government was more than happy to step in when their leadership was questioned. So has Kara's freedom to operate as a superhero been an illusion all this time? Very curious to see how this plays out, and I really do hope it ends with her parting ways with the DEO by the end of the season.

I think it is DEO"s control of Kara that has been illusion all this time. Whenever the government or the DEO has tried to reign in either Alex or Kara for whatever reasons, they have gone against the express wishes of either their commander or the president. From S1, when Kara rescued Alex, to S2, when Alex refused to blow up Kara. I think the government doesn't feature much in S3, does it?

It appears the government, because of Kara's support of the old president as well as J'onn acting as a buffer between her and the rest of the world, has gotten the wrong idea about Kara... and I am pretty sure Kara will disabuse them of those notions if and when they go overboard.

I think at least a bit of Kara holding back has to do with Alex working with the DEO. So, either something really horrific has to happen or Alex needs to resign herself before Kara completely breaks with the DEO.

 

[flickchick85]

I think it is DEO"s control of Kara that has been illusion all this time. Whenever the government or the DEO has tried to reign in either Alex or Kara for whatever reasons, they have gone against the express wishes of either their commander or the president. From S1, when Kara rescued Alex, to S2, when Alex refused to blow up Kara. I think the government doesn't feature much in S3, does it?

It appears the government, because of Kara's support of the old president as well as J'onn acting as a buffer between her and the rest of the world, has gotten the wrong idea about Kara... and I am pretty sure Kara will disabuse them of those notions if and when they go overboard.

I think at least a bit of Kara holding back has to do with Alex working with the DEO. So, either something really horrific has to happen or Alex needs to resign herself before Kara completely breaks with the DEO.

See, I would agree with that, except for the part where Kara doesn't object whenever someone (including Alex) claims she's an employee of that place. She's NOT an employee, really. Unless she's been on their payroll this whole time and we never knew. Yet she now seems to agree that she is whenever she's scolded like one? Her reactions to these recent orders have been...enlightening to me. She seems to genuinely believe she's under obligation to follow their orders - like when Haley tells her muggings are not in her purview - and doesn't even put up a fight, which is downright bizarre to me. If she really is just feigning obedience for Alex's sake, then she's doing a damn good job because she's been fooling me too, lol.

I do agree it appears she'll be reaching a breaking point soon though, where she'll hopefully be telling them what's what, and I very much look forward to that.

 

[Hunter Rider]

After Col. Haley told Alex and Supergirl that the DEO isn't responsible for investigating the Children of Liberty and the sisters were talking on the stairs Alex said Haley was acting all Delores Umbridgey and the two of them might have to go Weasley twins on her. Please let the sisters go Weasley twins on her then leave the DEO in spectacular fashion like George and Fred left Hogwarts.

Ah, that explains why I missed it, I'm not really a Potter guy so unless she'd mentioned Harry, Hermione, Dumbledore or Voldermort it will probably fly over myhead lol.

 

[Thome216]

Her 'ducking her head' in deference to Haley doesn't fit with all the times she's bucked against Alex when told not to do something. She has far more respect for her sister than Haley, so it is odd that she is not fighting to do what she believes is right. Which is to defend everyone no matter any jurisdiction.

 

[Brierrose]

I think it is DEO"s control of Kara that has been illusion all this time. Whenever the government or the DEO has tried to reign in either Alex or Kara for whatever reasons, they have gone against the express wishes of either their commander or the president. From S1, when Kara rescued Alex, to S2, when Alex refused to blow up Kara. I think the government doesn't feature much in S3, does it?

It appears the government, because of Kara's support of the old president as well as J'onn acting as a buffer between her and the rest of the world, has gotten the wrong idea about Kara... and I am pretty sure Kara will disabuse them of those notions if and when they go overboard.

I think at least a bit of Kara holding back has to do with Alex working with the DEO. So, either something really horrific has to happen or Alex needs to resign herself before Kara completely breaks with the DEO.

See, I would agree with that, except for the part where Kara doesn't object whenever someone (including Alex) claims she's an employee of that place. She's NOT an employee, really. Unless she's been on their payroll this whole time and we never knew. Yet she now seems to agree that she is whenever she's scolded like one? Her reactions to these recent orders have been...enlightening to me. She seems to genuinely believe she's under obligation to follow their orders - like when Haley tells her muggings are not in her purview - and doesn't even put up a fight, which is downright bizarre to me. If she really is just feigning obedience for Alex's sake, then she's doing a damn good job because she's been fooling me too, lol.

I do agree it appears she'll be reaching a breaking point soon though, where she'll hopefully be telling them what's what, and I very much look forward to that.

Good points all around on Kara and the DEO. The full grown wolf to wolf pup is a good analogy. The only thing that Hank Henshaw could’ve done to force Superman to work with him was threaten young Kara and Jeremiah took care of that. Once J’onn took over Superman did work with him then left when they disagreed. J’onn knew Clark was no threat to Earth so was content to let Superman do his thing but did maintain the sundown protocol just in case.

Kara actually did leave the DEO for an episode in season one when she thought J’onn killed Astra so she didn’t want to work with him anymore. We know she went back when she learned the truth and I don’t think an argument can be made that she didn’t need the help in the beginning. By the end of season one Kara, Alex and J’onn were family. J’onn never really stopped Kara from doing anything she wanted to do, he was fine with her stopping ordinary bank robberies or Morgan Edge. J’onn also never really punished Alex when she disobeyed him, something he defiantly had the power to do. Heck J’onn let Alex, Kara and Winn to get away with a whole lot of things (cough Winn using DEO resources to make Gaurdian’s suit). In my head Kara started as an unpaid intern working with the DEO to gain the experience she needed then probably at the beginning of season two J’onn offered to make the arrangement between the DEO and Supergirl more formal and made her an employee without actually changing the way the relationship worked. From Kara’s perspective she was getting paid and J’onn wasn’t constraining her, so she would have no reason to decline his offer.

I re-watched the scene in this episode where Col. Haley is scolding the sisters for Supergirl saving the alien couple, to me both Melissa and Chyler’s body language looked like controlled anger. Both sisters are smart enough to know that losing their tempers at that point wouldn’t have accomplished anything and as it turns they got what they wanted in the end. In addition, at this point Kara doesn’t want to make things harder on Alex. After talking on the stairs Kara knows she and Alex are on the same page regarding Col. Haley so Kara’s not going to just fly out and leave her sister in the lurch. If Kara decides to stop working for the DEO she’ll do in a way that minimizes the blowback on Alex or both sisters quit. Another option is the sisters go Weasley twins and take back the DEO from Col. Haley if that happens I’d like to see the DEO go rogue and separate from the government, Cadmus did it.

 

[Lencho01]

Manchester is a great addition. Still hoping we see him with powers.

Brainy's fight was fun.

I was a little confused if the family being attacked were actually aliens or just the pet lizard.

I still laugh at myself when looking at Agent Liberty's family and thinking they were his sister and brother.

 

[zenith16]

I think it is DEO"s control of Kara that has been illusion all this time. Whenever the government or the DEO has tried to reign in either Alex or Kara for whatever reasons, they have gone against the express wishes of either their commander or the president. From S1, when Kara rescued Alex, to S2, when Alex refused to blow up Kara. I think the government doesn't feature much in S3, does it?

It appears the government, because of Kara's support of the old president as well as J'onn acting as a buffer between her and the rest of the world, has gotten the wrong idea about Kara... and I am pretty sure Kara will disabuse them of those notions if and when they go overboard.

I think at least a bit of Kara holding back has to do with Alex working with the DEO. So, either something really horrific has to happen or Alex needs to resign herself before Kara completely breaks with the DEO.

season 3 not really but there was an issue where alex step out of bound when she arrested max lord. but john kept it quitet and most of the time when alex went against the rule's she was protected by john from any one else, before he was fully outed as an alien. that's why they were over looked.

Even when it were times where other agents out ranked her like that head of security agent that died and it came of to certain fans saying "the deo was weird personal play thing for alex" when she pulled of thing's like what happend with maxwell lord. and she wasn't in a position of titled power to do so.

kara holding back was done cause she wanted human to trust her and the Deo were the only one on her earth capable of supporting with the alien criminal element. truth be told I don't like that the DEo is under military rule compared the the comicversion whcih is a civilan fed agency. where it's pushed you can't think for your self as agent .what's bother ing more though is the talk of lenamaking human as powerful as alien's



and there's meta human's on that earth 38 like Re-actron and the late live wire and the character she lost her life to Pis who was more satrun girl then saturn girl . whose a meta human & who are very capable of fighting alien's on par .


what's happened with the writers this season remembering that and the fact that barry gave tem prison's to handel them, during season 2 as well? why isn't lena aware of themetahuman's that are native to her own earth?

Manchester is a great addition. Still hoping we see him with powers.

Brainy's fight was fun.

I was a little confused if the family being attacked were actually aliens or just the pet lizard.

I still laugh at myself when looking at Agent Liberty's family and thinking they were his sister and brother.

they were possblyalien but may be not with powers that were be of any benifit defence wise next to their pet. or they are the type that don't care for violence in they don't want to harm any one.